The View from the Hermitage, Day 456

I was asked last night just how long I'm going to continue inhabiting "the Hermitage." I responded with something about when the end of the pandemic was officially declared. Technically, I do leave the Hermitage now, but only for very specific purposes that can't be done remotely, and when I do I take all form of precautions. I helped put on the election, wearing a mask and keeping as much distance as possible, handing out ballots at my arm's length plus that of the voter. I'm having my second hair appointment tomorrow and will be wearing a mask as will, I expect, my stylist. A quick run to the grocery store for some ingredient I need? Not gonna happen. I'll substitute--The Joy of Cooking has a great list of substitutions--or make something else. So when will I stop viewing the world from the Hermitage? I honestly don't know. For now, I want to keep going. The fat lady hasn't even warmed up yet. 

Quickie factoid: The Washington Post's final tally of XPot's false or misleading claims was ... suspense builds ... 30,573. If you want to know how many that comes to for each day, you're on your own. I'm not gonna go there.

It's been clear that covid-19 wreaks havoc on the respiratory system and also the heart, brain, and kidneys among other organs. Could it also cause diabetes by attacking insulin-producing cells? Some evidence suggests it might. Covid-19, the virus that keeps on giving, especially when you see the new symptoms brought by the Delta variant.

That variant scares me more every day. It now accounts for 10 percent of cases in the US, a proportion that could double every two weeks. Delta is now the dominant strain in the UK and driving new cases in people aged 12 to 20. According to the CDC, Delta offers a "potential reduction" in vaccine effectiveness and a "potential reduction" in the effectiveness of some treatments. It is not unreasonable to think that Delta could become the dominant strain here if it takes hold in areas with low vaccination rates. Even if 64.4 percent of Americans have gotten at least one dose of vaccine, one dose offers only partial protection.

Delta could also become the dominant strain worldwide, having been detected in 74 different countries so far. It has more severe symptoms than other strains including stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, hearing loss, and joint pain. In Guangzhou, China 12 percent of patients became severely or critically ill within three to four days of symptom onset. The symptom that intrigues me is hearing loss. I wonder if inflammation is at the root, but would it be affecting the auditory nerves or some other part of the ear? I'm now pretty much profoundly deaf in my right ear with no known cause. Being curious about my own hearing loss makes me wonder what might be at work with Delta.

Cases are down in the US overall but rising in many states with lower-than-average vaccination rates. Eight states--Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Missouri, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming--have seen their seven-day rolling average number of cases rise from what they were two weeks ago. All those states but Hawaii have vaccination rates lower than the US average. The 10 states with the fewest new cases per capita over two weeks all have fully vaccinated rates above the national average. This includes the three most vaccinated states, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

Novavax says that its vaccine is 90 percent effective against variants, on par with Pfizer and Moderna. It has 100 percent efficacy in preventing severe disease. Novavax may or may not seek Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA until late September, though it is applying now in Britain, the EU, India, and South Korea. Some scientists say that the US has enough vaccines in play right now but that the Novavax could be the vaccine to use for booster shots when those come to pass.